


Connection Established.

by DrPaine



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-18
Updated: 2015-07-18
Packaged: 2018-04-09 22:18:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4366316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrPaine/pseuds/DrPaine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A short take on why Peridot might prefer to stay on Earth after all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Connection Established.

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally written back in April, for the record ^^

_Really?_

Peridot stared at the half-lit flickering screen, leaning as close as she could, tracing the letters with her finger to ensure they were exactly as they seemed. It wouldn’t be the first false start– her own injuries left her datapads barely working, her visor was scuffed and cracked so badly she could barely see in front of her own nose; she was starting to suspect injury to her gem as well, never in her (admittedly short) life had she felt so _weary_.

This was really it, though. The screen flickered again, brighter from Peridot’s own excitement. She could explain about the mission, show how Jasper had endangered it, how she had done everything possible…

And still failed.

The screen flashed red for just a moment, then dimmed. 

Jasper would certainly be reprimanded. Peridot was certain of that much– the Diamonds might not be held to any standard, but every Gem below them was. But Jasper was a higher rank. Old, battle-tested and strong, fiercely loyal and beyond valuable for the Authority. Difficult, if not impossible, to really replace.

As for Peridot? Well, she wasn’t a _Pearl_ , but even their obsolescence had warped into a strange sort of value in the last century or so. She dared think that at this point, even the not-quite perfect Pearls would tie with– if not outrank– a flawless Peridot. Her kind had become the drones, and she…

“ _It’ll be easy, they said.”_ The words were lost in the sound of wind whipping through grass and trees. 

An easy job for a Gem who was never up for the hard stuff. Something that was _impossible_ to mess up… but if she did?

There were thousands like her, ready to fill the void at a moment’s notice, they were (with only one or two exceptions she could recall) completely interchangeable. 

She remembered herself at the galaxy warp. The broken robonoid she had crushed without a thought and she _knew_ what they did with defectives. Even the worst failure would have a purpose, feeding the new and hopefully strong.

Rain beaded on her visor. The screen blinked– _unable to connect_.

Perhaps… that might be for the best. This planet wasn’t _too_ awful, and there were plenty of remnants. She could… recuperate. Learn a little more, and perhaps the next time she found a connection, she’d have something, some knowledge, some deed so valuable they couldn’t afford to throw her away.


End file.
